VALORANT Fans Demand Action from Riot Games to Address Smurfing Issue
The issue of smurfing has once again become a hot topic in the VALORANT community following the release of Chamber on Nov. 16. Players are now calling on Riot Games to take action against this problem.
The VALORANT subreddit has been inundated with posts and suggestions on how to tackle smurfing since the new content was introduced. One popular suggestion is to raise the level requirement for ranked play or implement a waiting period before new accounts can access the new agents.
Community Feedback Highlights the Impact of Smurfing
New accounts have the advantage of earning free agent unlock tokens by completing a few challenges. This means that players with smurf accounts can try out new characters much sooner than seasoned players, who have to grind to unlock them.
Smurfing is not a new phenomenon in gaming. It involves high-level players creating new accounts and intentionally placing them in lower ranks for easy wins, which undermines the competitiveness of the game.
Many of these new accounts are either intentionally placed in lower ranks or are simply alternate accounts. As a result, they often outperform players who are in their rightful ranks, making the game less enjoyable for those players.
Possible Solutions to Address the Issue of Smurfing
Some games, such as CS:GO and Overwatch, have implemented verification systems where each account must be linked to a unique phone number to play ranked. In League of Legends, players must reach level 30 and own at least 20 champions before accessing ranked play, which requires a significant time investment and discourages smurfing.
The VALORANT community has voiced their concerns about smurfing through comments on these posts, highlighting the increase in smurf accounts and expressing their frustration with encountering smurfs in their matches. While no game has completely solved this issue, there are several approaches that Riot Games could consider to reduce smurfing and make it less appealing.
Conclusion
The prevalence of smurfing in VALORANT has prompted fans to call on Riot Games for action. Suggestions such as raising the level requirement for ranked play and implementing waiting periods for accessing new agents have been proposed. Although no game has found a perfect solution to smurfing, Riot Games has the opportunity to address this issue and improve the overall gaming experience for VALORANT players.
VALORANT, smurfing, Riot Games, ranked play, new agents, gaming, community feedback